Marriage
Marriage is a custom common to humans where two people, usually a man and a woman, are legally joined together for a lifetime in a ceremony called a wedding, with the possibility of a family being produced through the marriage. There is also the "common-law marriage" where a man and a woman cohabiting with each other and having a long-term intimate relationship with each other (sometimes producing children through the relationship) are considered a married couple. Heterosexual marriage is considered a virtue in Christianity with the intention that families may be produced and that the virtues of godliness would be instilled upon future generations. In the book of Genesis, it is believed that God created marriage through the union of the first man and the first woman He created in the Garden of Eden, primarily as a picture of how God wants to relate Himself to mankind, and that any kind of sexual activity outside the boundaries of marriage is considered fornication (i.e., sexual immorality) and adultery. Although polygamy (the marriage of one person to more than one wife or husband) was practiced among God's people Israel during the Old Testament period, it was believed to have been done away with and discouraged within the formation of the Christian church, as Paul the apostle said in one of his epistles that anyone who desires to be a bishop (alternatively an elder or overseer) or a deacon must be the husband of one wife. The only thing other than divorce on grounds of sexual unfaithfulness that can separate married people who are believers is death, for Jesus in the Gospels said that at the age of the resurrection, people will neither marry nor be given in marriage, but will be like the angels in heaven. Mainstream Left Behind media In the Left Behind books, there were marriages that existed before the Rapture that were disrupted when a Christian within the marriage was taken up in the event, and there was at least one instance where the bridegroom in a wedding ceremony was taken up. Those that had both partners as nonbelievers either remained in that state or became believers at some point during the Tribulation. At the point the Rapture took place, Rayford Steele was so dissatisfied with the current state of his marriage to Irene, particularly since she started going to New Hope Village Church and became a believer, that he thought of starting an adulterous relationship with his flight attendant Hattie Durham. There were also marriages that were formed during the Tribulation, such as that of Rayford Steele and Amanda White, Buck Williams and Chloe Steele, Ree Woo and Ming Toy, and Judd Thompson Jr. and Vicki Byrne. During the Millennial Kingdom, Kenny Williams and Ekaterina Risto were married. In heaven, God the Father presided over the marriage of His Son Jesus Christ with His "bride", the church, which returned with Him to the earth at His Glorious Appearing. It is not known exactly how the doctrine of marriage was affected during the Tribulation by either Enigma Babylon One World Faith or Carpathianism, although in line with what the book of Revelation teaches, people continued to be promiscuous in their sexual behavior whether or not they were openly religious or committed in any sort of marital relationship. It is likely that members of The Other Light and The Only Light also see themselves as free to have any sort of sexual relationship even if it goes against the commandments of God in the Millennial Kingdom period, as former member Rehema had a child outside of marriage. In the Millennial Kingdom, marriage involving one or more Glorified individuals is annulled upon their return from Heaven, although the couples (or triples, see Rayford Steele's case) may choose to continue living together as friends (for example, Chloe and Cameron). Left Behind: Global Justice In the world of Left Behind: Global Justice, same-sex marriage was already legalized well before the Rapture and the Tribulation started. This changed very little of how the Global Community permitted sex to happen both within and outside of marriages by the decree of Nicolae Carpathia through the ten regional subpotentates. Left Beyond During the Millennial Kingdom, Temple-controlled areas prohibit polygamy, divorce, premarital sex, and all forms of homosexual relationship. In TOL-controlled areas, LGBTQ people in theory have the same reproductive freedom as heterosexuals do, and all marriage (including polygamous marriage) is permitted. However, due to TOL's lack of focus on law enforcement, sexual crime is fairly rampant. Abortion is permitted but discouraged due to the short lifespan of TOL members; TOL had set up an adoption program, although it remains underfunded. In Omega-controlled areas, including the underwater cities, marriage is considered a civil contract between two or more human beings, and regulated by contract law, since the AI has no understanding of marriage.